Just a quick check in to announce the winners of Kat and I’s book contest!

Congrats to Lillieth Grand and Jody St. George!! E-mails are in your inbox!

If you didn’t win a book, do not despair! Kat and I are giving away even BETTER goodies if you enroll through our links for B-School! Get all the details here.

This week, I’ve been spending a lot of time writing songs to honor mom with my clients. Everyone has been successful, from ages 4 to 105!

My Tuesday evening group came up with these lyrics and made it into a country song:

It’s Mother’s Day. It’s Mother’s Day.
Hugs and Kisses are the very best gifts.
This is so ridiculous.

Moms are good for online school.
Moms yell at teachers that are mean to us.
Moms help you with your homework.

It’s Mother’s Day. Its mother’s Day.
Hugs and Kisses are the very best gifts.
This is so ridiculous.

Moms punish your brother when he stabs you with a fork.
Moms ask if you are ok when you are sick.
Moms rule because they are so cool and tell us that our enemies drool.

It’s Mother’s Day. Its mother’s Day.
Hugs and Kisses are the very best gifts.
This is so ridiculous.

These guys had a lot of fun brainstorming the chorus, inserting their own personalities, and  thinking of all the ways in which their moms are awesome! I played along on the guitar, and they accompanied themselves on a variety of rhythm instruments.

Since this has been such a big hit this week, I thought I’d share an easy to use template for you to craft your own song for mom.

In my experience doing song writing with others, melody has stood out as one of the more difficult obstacles to creating the song. That’s okay! For this template, we are going to utilize the melody of a popular song and re-write the words.

For this template, we’ll be using the tune of Mister Sun. The original lyrics are

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,
Mister Golden Sun,
Please shine down on me

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,
Mister Golden Sun,
Hiding behind a tree…

These little children
Are asking you
To please come out
So we can play with you

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,
Mister Golden Sun,
Please shine down on…
Please shine down on…
Please shine down on me!

But for our Mother’s day song, we’ll create a Mad Lib of sorts for you to fill out! Dad’s, Aunt’s, Uncles, friends, and other family members, this is where you can let the kids take the reigns!

It’s Mother’s Day, Day,
It is Mother’s Day
It’s Her _________ Day! (adj.)

It’s Mother’s Day, Day,
It is Mother’s Day
We love to ___________. (verb for a nice action towards mom)

Moms are the best at
______________ (verb)
She always ________ (verb)
and that makes her ______ (adj)

It’s Mother’s Day, Day,
It is Mother’s Day
It’s Her _________ … (adj from beginning)
very very ___________…
It’s her ___________ Day!

What did you come up with? Will you be serenading mom with this tune or another? Share your songs in the comments!

That change, along with many other behind the scenes modifications to the running of my business, were spurred by the Rich, Happy, and Hot B-School, a course I took last year.

What did I get from RHH B-School? I learned..

1. How to connect deeply with my clients and provide them with services they truly need.
2. How to honor myself as a business woman while still honoring the needs of my clients.
3. Clarity about my goals as a business owner and as a woman.
4. Mastery over my online presence, and the ability to make it my own.

You have seen what has happened with my business.  I went from contemplating picking up a waitressing job to looking for subcontractors in 6 months. You saw my business go from its infancy to maturity in what felt like overnight. If you are already established in business, this course has even more to offer you, and is why I am taking it again this summer!

If you are ready to kick your business into high-gear, then I truly believe this course will help you get there with SOLID support along the way. I want everyone around me, including YOU as you read this post to be incredibly successful in life and business. That’s why I’m recommending B-School.

If you are already sold, you should Go sign up.

Best part of this? Kat Fulton and I are collaborating to offer you some AMAZING bonuses if you sign up through our links.

Here’s the deal for enrolling in the course: We get a commission if you purchase the course through our special links when enrollment opens on May 11. We will give you the bonuses listed below if you click through our links. BUT you absolutely *have* to make sure you click on our link IMMEDIATELY before your purchase. You can use the links listed here OR on Kat’s website. It’s all the same.

If you purchase through our special enrollment links, then we will GIVE you these FREE bonuses:

1. Enrollment in Online Zennn self study (15 CMTEs), which means you get Forever-Access, and you will be enrolled for the LIVE course in 2013. (Current Zennn Masters will receive a refund for their previous purchase.) Join our growing community of music therapists claiming their territory and working the web!
2. Full-access to Online Business – Best Practices for Music Therapists beta-version course (3 CMTEs)
3. Getting Local With Natalie- 30 minute brain picking session on how you can up your local business!

We wouldn’t be telling you about this if we didn’t truly believe in it. Go check out Marie Forleo’s site, watch her vids, and decide if she is a fit for you, then..

Go sign up.

Breaking it down:

1. Check out Marie and see if you love her like we (Kat & Nat) do.
2. If you love it, come May 11th, enroll in B-School through this link and Kat and I will see you there, our arms overflowing with awesome bonuses.

“There is thing that’s like talking except you don’t talk. You sing. You sing.”

It is rare for me to mention the music I truly enjoy here, but a conversation with a client’s parent set my brain back to addressing the fear that many parents have about singing to their children. I know of many parents who will chant rhythmically to their child, and croon in their head voice, but what about actually singing?

The song I am quoting throughout this post is Sing by The Dresden Dolls. It’s not child appropriate, but it addresses the observation that people in our culture don’t sing as much as they once did. We listen to the radio and bee bop in our cars, but outside of church, when is the last time that you, as a non-musician (if the term applies) sang alone, or in a group?

“Sing for the teachers who told you that you couldn’t sing. Just sing”

What we tell children about their voices sticks for life. A client that I sing hymns with each week initially told me that she would never sing with me because of the statements an elementary school teacher had made to her as a child. Now, when she is able to support the breath necessary, she sings several phrases of her beloved hymns, allowing her to once more be a part of the music she loves so much.

“There is thing keeping everyone’s lungs and lips locked, it is called fear and it’s seeing a great renaissance.”

So how do we combat this fear of singing?

First we recognize that it is natural. There is nothing foreign or alien to humans singing. We’ve been doing it in some form or another for as long as history can recall. You are not required to be Adele, or Sinatra, or an operatic coloratura. Your voice is uniquely yours!

Second, relax. Take a moment to stretch, take deep breaths, and feel your body from the inside out. Feel breath filling your belly, then leaving through your mouth.

Third, sing. Continue stretching and taking those deep breaths, and gradually add tone. As this becomes comfortable, move around in pitch, do sirens, or sing a run from your favorite song. The more you do this, the more comfortable it becomes.

Singing soothes our own bodies, and importantly, the bodies and minds of our children.

Lyrics shared are from “Sing” by The Dresden Dolls.

Boom Boom Boom!

“My son never makes eye contact. It’s hard to tell if he is listening to me.”

“My daughter needs help with her social skills. Sometimes I don’t think she realizes I’m in the room.”

“He has trouble initiating play with others. If he is forced into it, he has a great time, but he has no idea how to start it.”

These comments are just an example of what I’ve heard from parents in their contact e-mails. My inbox has been flooded with e-mail like these, that all end with one common question:

How can music therapy help?

You may remember my How Music Therapy Works series, and the post about individuals on the Autism Spectrum. I mentioned there that music is social, but I want to dig in to that answer today.

1. Music Mimics Speech. While your child may not initially respond to you calling their name, barring any medical issues preventing hearing, they will most likely respond in some way to music being played. Eliciting this response and then utilizing it to build further social skills is one of the first duties in social skills development.
2. Participating in music requires awareness outside of ourselves. Try to play a steady beat. You can clap it or play it on a hand drum. Now, have another person try to play that steady beat with you. Pretty easy, right? Now have them play it with you in a sound protected room while unable to see you. To complete that task successfully, there is a minimal requirement of auditory attention. To have optimal success, eye contact with the other musician or instrument becomes necessary as well.
3. Music provides a safe setting in which to learn new skills. Lyrics can be written about turn taking that children will remember. Skills can be practiced in the music through turn taking while playing, only having music play when certain skills are observed, and a number of other interventions.

As with any developmental area, the manner in which these skills are addressed is individualized based on the person with whom the music therapist is working.

What are some of the ways you see music helping to enhance social skills? Share in the comments!

There is something special about getting together with a group of people who are all passionate about the same things that you are, and picking up as if you just saw each other yesterday.

It is also a wonderful opportunity to share information! I had the pleasure of giving my very first solo presentation at one of my professional conferences. Obviously, I’ve given many solo presentations before, just not to music therapists!

It was my pleasure to share about my journey through my first year in business. I shared a narrative of where I had successes, mistakes, and the tips that helped me to get through them.

If you were unable to get a handout, or missed the presentation all together, I’ve uploaded a copy here! I’d love to hear what you thought of the presentation if you were there. That will help me to refine my offerings later on!

There are two things in this world that truly get me up in the morning: an outdoor adventure, and getting to express my passion for music therapy to others.

From the time I opened Key Changes Music Therapy Services, I had plans of bringing in my husband, who is a stellar photographer, to take pictures. After a year and a half of realizing that he will never be off work at the same time that I have clients who can be photographed, I enlisted the help of parents. The rest of this post is just going to be this week’s pictures of the amazing people I work with.

Making good eye contract during the pronoun song.

We close every session with drumming!

Exploring the piano together.

"This Hanon guy is CRAZY!" - from a piano lesson!

Boom Boom Boom!

But it got me to thinking: Why do we do the things we do? What motivates us to dedicate our lives to one particular thing?

There are lots of possibilities! Money, difficulty (or ease!), self-gratification, sense of worth, and a feeling of “purpose” are a few that come to mind initially. For me, my motivation breaks down to these 4 things:

Purpose. I’ll admit it, I am very mushy when I get to talking about the purpose of humanity, why we are here, etc. I’ve always felt that if I can’t help others, my purpose isn’t being fulfilled. I felt called from a young age to help make a difference in someone’s life, and that’s what I get to do now, every single day.

Self-Gratification. I love what I do. It makes me happy. I love that I do it with music, which makes me extra happy. Not only do I get to fulfill my purpose, but I get to do so while singing and dancing and playing instruments. How COOL! I come home exhausted at the end of the day and sleep like a baby because I am fulfilled.

Drive. I love a challenge. I’m driven to be successful at what I do, and to be the best I can.  I won’t lie, I’d love to one day be on the same level in my field as the people I admire. But, being a music therapist isn’t easy. It requires a lot of energy, a lot of thought and planning, a lot of knowledge, and a lot of flexibility. A 30 minute session can leave me drained or completely charged. I have the drive to do that every day until I am the best I can be, and then to get better.

Smiles. If money weren’t our currency, I think smiles would satisfy. The smiles I receive from my clients are enough to bowl me over with laughter, make me cry, set me at peace, or all of the above simultaneously.

It’s been a long time since I paused to break down exactly why I practice music therapy. It’s always been natural for me, but examining the specific motivators has helped me to feel even more confident in the knowledge that this is what I am meant to do.

Have you ever given thought to what motivates you to do what you do? This could apply to lots of things! Careers, family, even trips! I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments.

Many of our referrals for those we trust our health to come from word of mouth referrals, or the ever popular google places reviews, but what if your loved one needs the services of a music therapist, and you aren’t in the area?

There are a few online resources that can direct you to a music therapist in your loved one’s area.  You can hop over to the Certification Board for Music Therapists’ new and improved website and use the location search to find a board certified music therapist, or you can search the American Music Therapy Association to find music therapists who are also members of AMTA.

Or you can discover that you have a connection to a music therapist on a social media platform and just ask them!